Burner panels including dry-tip burners, submerged combustion melters, and methods

ABSTRACT

Combustion burner panels, submerged combustion melters including one or more of the panels, and methods of using the same are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the burner panel includes a panel body having a first major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooled portion of the panel body, and a second major surface defined by an upper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body. The panel body has at least one through passage extending from the first to the second major surface, the through passages accommodating a set of substantially concentric inner and outer conduits. The inner conduit forms a primary passage for fuel or oxidant, and the outer conduit forms a secondary passage between the outer conduit and the inner conduit for fuel or oxidant. A protective member is associated with each set. The burner panels promote burner life and melter campaign length.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of prior pending U.S. application Ser.No. 14/838,229 filed Aug. 27, 2015. The entire contents of theabove-identified application is herein incorporated by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of combustionburners, combustion burner panels, and methods of use, and morespecifically to burners, burner panels, submerged combustion melters,and methods of their use, particularly for melting glass-formingmaterials, mineral wool forming materials, and other non-metallicinorganic materials.

Background Art

A submerged combustion melter (SCM) may be employed to melt glass batchand/or waste glass materials to produce molten glass, or may meltmineral wool feedstock to make mineral or rock wool, by passing oxygen,oxygen-enriched mixtures, or air along with a liquid, gaseous and/orparticulate fuel (some of which may be in one or more of the feedstockmaterials), directly into a molten pool of glass or other material,usually through burners submerged in a turbulent melt pool. Theintroduction of high flow rates of products of combustion of the oxidantand fuel into the molten material, and the expansion of the gases duringsubmerged combustion (SC), cause rapid melting of the feedstock and muchturbulence and foaming.

In the context of SCMs, SC burners are predominately water-cooled,nozzle mix designs and may avoid premixing of oxidant and fuel forsafety reasons due to the increased reactivity of using oxygen oroxygen-enriched oxidants as the oxidant versus air. Nevertheless,certain submerged combustion burners employ a smooth exterior surface,half-toroid metallic burner tip of the same or similar material as theremainder of the burner, where the fuel and oxidant begin mixing justafter escaping the burner tip. When using such burners in an SCM for themanufacture of glass or other molten materials, the burner tip is placedin an extreme environment. The burner tip may be exposed to corrosiveoxidants, fuels, and/or combustion products, high temperature directcontact with molten and/or unmelted materials, internal pressure fromwater or other coolant, vaporization of coolant within the burner tip,thermal cycling, and the like. As a result, it has been determined thatthermal fatigue resistance, high melting point, high temperaturecorrosion/oxidation resistance, high temperature structural strength,and ability to join/fabricate are some of the key requirements fordesigning next generation SC burners.

Due to these requirements, noble metal (sometimes referred to asprecious metal) alloys have become the focus. However, being expensivealloys, it is not presently economical to fabricate the entire burnerusing these materials. Because of this, up until now the burner designerwas left with the challenge of determining how to best attach thenon-noble metal portion of the burner to the noble metal tip withoutsacrificing other concerns, such as good mechanical strength, coolantleak proofing, and noble metal recovery. It would be an advanced in thesubmerged combustion melter art to avoid some or all of these issues,and prolong the run-length or campaign length of submerged combustionmelters.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present disclosure, submerged combustion (SC)burner panels are described that may reduce or eliminate problems withknown SC burners, melters, and methods of using the melters to producemolten glass and other non-metallic inorganic materials, such as rockwool and mineral wool.

One aspect of this disclosure is a combustion burner panel comprising:

-   -   (a) a panel body having a first major surface defined by a lower        fluid-cooled portion of the panel body, and a second major        surface defined by an upper non-fluid cooled portion of the        panel body, the panel body having at least one through passage        extending from the first to the second major surface, the panel        body supporting at least one set of substantially concentric at        least one inner conduit and an outer conduit in the through        passage, each conduit comprising proximal and distal ends, the        at least one inner conduit forming a primary passage and the        outer conduit forming a secondary passage between the outer        conduit and the at least one inner conduit; and    -   (b) a non-fluid cooled protective member associated with each        set, each non-fluid cooled protective member supported at least        partially internally of the panel body and positioned at the        distal end of the outer conduit of each set.

Other burner panel embodiments, such as those including fluid-cooledprotective members, and submerged combustion melters (SCM) comprising atleast one burner panel of this disclosure, and methods of producingmolten non-metallic inorganic materials such as molten glass, in theSCMs, are considered aspects of this disclosure.

Certain methods within the disclosure include methods wherein the fuelmay be a substantially gaseous fuel selected from the group consistingof methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil or mixturesthereof, and the oxidant may be an oxygen stream comprising at least 90mole percent oxygen.

Burner panels, melters, and methods of the disclosure will become moreapparent upon review of the brief description of the drawings, thedetailed description of the disclosure, and the claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The manner in which the objectives of the disclosure and other desirablecharacteristics can be obtained is explained in the followingdescription and attached drawings in which:

FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of fiveburner panels in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic cross-sectional views of threenon-fluid-cooled protective members in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view, partially in phantom, of anothernon-fluid-cooled protective member in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an SCM in accordance withthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic logic diagram of a method of melting non-metallicinorganic materials in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic perspective and cross-sectional views,respectfully, of a fluid-cooled burner panel in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings are schematic innature, may not be to scale, and illustrate only typical embodiments ofthis disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of itsscope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effectiveembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the disclosed SC burner panels, SCMs, and methods.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that theapparatus and methods covered by the claims may be practiced withoutthese details and that numerous variations or modifications from thespecifically described embodiments may be possible and are deemed withinthe claims. For example, wherever the term “comprising” is used,embodiments where “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of” areexplicitly disclosed herein and are part of this disclosure. All U.S.published patent applications and U.S. Patents referenced herein arehereby explicitly incorporated herein by reference. In the eventdefinitions of terms in the referenced patents and applications conflictwith how those terms are defined in the present application, thedefinitions for those terms that are provided in the present applicationshall be deemed controlling. All percentages herein are based on weightunless otherwise specified.

As explained briefly in the Background, one drawback to present SCburners employing a metallic burner tip of the same or similar materialas the remainder of the burner is that, when using such burners in anSCM for the manufacture of glass, the burner tip is placed in an extremeenvironment. One problem is that the tip of the burner is exposed to theextreme high temperatures of an oxy-gas flame when oxygen-enrichedoxidants are used. Such flames, when deflected, can melt the burner tip.Using noble metals and alloys for burner tips presents the additionalchallenge of attaching the burner tip to the base metal of the remainderof the burner. The present application is devoted to resolving thischallenge with a new approach to burner design for submerged combustion.

Various terms are used throughout this disclosure. “Submerged” as usedherein means that combustion gases emanate from combustion burners orcombustion burner panels under the level of the molten glass; theburners or burner panels may be floor-mounted, wall-mounted, or inmelter embodiments comprising more than one submerged combustion burner,any combination thereof (for example, two floor mounted burner panelsand one wall mounted burner panel). Burner panels described herein mayform part of an SCM floor and/or wall structure. In certain embodimentsone or more burner panels described herein may form the entire floor. A“burner panel” is simply a panel equipped to emit fuel and oxidant, orin some embodiments only one of these (for example a burner panel mayonly emit fuel, while another burner panel emits only oxidant, and viceversa). “SC” as used herein means “submerged combustion” unlessotherwise specifically noted, and “SCM” means submerged combustionmelter unless otherwise specifically noted.

As used herein the phrase “combustion gases” as used herein meanssubstantially gaseous mixtures comprised primarily of combustionproducts, such as oxides of carbon (such as carbon monoxide, carbondioxide), oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and water, as well aspartially combusted fuel, non-combusted fuel, and any excess oxidant.Combustion products may include liquids and solids, for example soot andunburned liquid fuels.

“Oxidant” as used herein includes air and gases having the same molarconcentration of oxygen as air, oxygen-enriched air (air having oxygenconcentration greater than 21 mole percent), and “pure” oxygen, such asindustrial grade oxygen, food grade oxygen, and cryogenic oxygen.Oxygen-enriched air may have 50 mole percent or more oxygen, and incertain embodiments may be 90 mole percent or more oxygen.

The term “fuel”, according to this disclosure, means a combustiblecomposition comprising a major portion of, for example, methane, naturalgas, liquefied natural gas, propane, hydrogen, steam-reformed naturalgas, atomized hydrocarbon oil, combustible powders and other flowablesolids (for example coal powders, carbon black, soot, and the like), andthe like. Fuels useful in the disclosure may comprise minor amounts ofnon-fuels therein, including oxidants, for purposes such as premixingthe fuel with the oxidant, or atomizing liquid or particulate fuels. Asused herein the term “fuel” includes gaseous fuels, liquid fuels,flowable solids, such as powdered carbon or particulate material, wastematerials, slurries, and mixtures or other combinations thereof.

The sources of oxidant and fuel may be one or more conduits, pipelines,storage facility, cylinders, or, in embodiments where the oxidant isair, ambient air. Oxygen-enriched oxidants may be supplied from apipeline, cylinder, storage facility, cryogenic air separation unit,membrane permeation separator, or adsorption unit such as a vacuum swingadsorption unit.

Burner panels of the present disclosure aim to solve the problem ofshort life of SC burners. In certain embodiments this may beaccomplished by use of burner panels including fluid-cooled ornon-fluid-cooled protective members for the external-most conduit of thesets of conduits, thus reducing the exposure of the burner tip toextreme high temperatures as well as reducing the severity of extremethermal cycling experienced by SC burner tips.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise burner panels wherein theouter conduit of at least some of the sets of concentric conduits areoxidant conduits, and the at least one inner conduit is one or more fuelconduits.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise non-fluid cooled orfluid-cooled protective members comprising one or more noble metals.Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise non-fluid cooled orfluid-cooled protective members consisting essentially of one or morenoble metals. Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise non-fluidcooled or fluid-cooled protective members consisting of one or morenoble metals.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein the lowerfluid-cooled portion and the upper non-fluid cooled portion arepositioned in layers, with the lower fluid-cooled portion supporting thesets of conduits and the associated protective members.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein thenon-fluid cooled protective member is a shaped annular disk having athrough passage, the through passage of the shaped annular disk havingan internal diameter d1 substantially equal to but not larger than aninternal diameter D1 of the outer conduit. Certain burner panelembodiments may comprise those wherein an internal surface of thethrough passage of the shaped annular disk and a portion of a topsurface of the shaped annular disk are not engulfed by the fluid-cooledor non-fluid-cooled portions of the panel body.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein the layersof the fluid-cooled and non-fluid-cooled portions form a seam therebetween, and wherein a top surface of the non-fluid cooled protectivemember and the seam are at substantially equal distance d6 from a topsurface of the non-fluid-cooled portion, and a bottom surface of theprotective member is below the seam a distance d7, where d6<d7.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein a portion ofthe through passage through the non-fluid-cooled portion has an innersurface angled away from a longitudinal axis through the substantiallyconcentric conduits at an angle ranging from 0 degrees to about 45degrees.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein the shapedannular disk non-fluid cooled protective member has a shape selectedfrom the group consisting of:

-   -   (a) an annulus having a constant internal diameter d1, and an        external diameter d2 that increases from one face to a second        face of the annulus;    -   (b) an annulus having a constant internal diameter portion of        diameter d1, and an increasing internal diameter portion of        diameter d3, and an external diameter d2 that increases from one        face to a second face;    -   (c) an annulus having a constant internal diameter d1, a        constant external diameter portion of diameter d4, and a large        diameter portion of diameter d5, where d4<d5.

Certain burner panel embodiments may further include a retaining memberpositioned about an external portion of the non-fluid cooled protectivemember.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein a distal endof the one or more fuel conduits extends a height H above a bottomsurface of the non-fluid cooled protective member.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein thenon-fluid cooled protective member comprises one or more male portionsextending away from the protective member, the male portions fitting inrespective female receptacles in the panel body.

Certain combustion burner panels may comprise a panel body having afirst major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooled portion of the panelbody, and a second major surface defined by an upper non-fluid cooledportion of the panel body, the panel body having at least one throughpassage extending from the first to the second major surface, thethrough passage diameter being greater in the lower fluid-cooled portionthan in the upper non-fluid cooled portion, the panel body supporting atleast one set of substantially concentric at least one inner conduit andan outer conduit, each conduit comprising proximal and distal ends, theat least one inner conduit forming a primary passage and the outerconduit forming a secondary passage between the outer conduit and the atleast one inner conduit; and (b) a fluid-cooled protective memberassociated with each set and having connections for coolant fluid supplyand return, each fluid-cooled protective member positioned adjacent atleast a portion of the circumference of the outer conduit between theproximal and distal ends thereof at approximately a position of thefluid-cooled portion of the panel body.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise those wherein eachfluid-cooled protective member is a fluid-cooled collar having aninternal diameter about the same as an external diameter of the outerconduit, the fluid-cooled collar having an external diameter larger thanthe internal diameter.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise a mounting sleeve. Incertain burner panel embodiments the mounting sleeve having a diameterat least sufficient to accommodate the external diameter of thefluid-cooled collar.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise wherein the panel bodyfluid-cooled portion and non-fluid-cooled portion are positioned inlayers, and wherein the layers of the fluid-cooled and non-fluid-cooledportions form a seam there between, and wherein a top surface of thefluid-cooled protective member and the seam are at substantially equaldistance d6 from a top surface of the non-fluid-cooled portion, and abottom surface of the fluid-cooled protective member is below the seam adistance d7, where d6<d7.

Certain burner panel embodiments may comprise wherein the outer conduitis an oxidant conduit and extends a height h2 above the seam, and theinner conduit is a fuel conduit and extends a height h3 above the seam,wherein h2>h3.

In certain embodiments, the burner panel may include only one or morefuel conduits, or only one or more oxidant conduits. These embodimentsmay be paired with other panels supplying fuel or oxidant (as the casemight be), the pair resulting in combustion of the fuel from one panelwith the oxidant from the other panel.

In certain embodiments the burner panel may comprise a pre-disposedlayer or layers of glass, ceramic, refractory, and/or refractory metalor other protective material as a protective skull over the non-fluidcooled body portion or layer. The layer or layers of protective materialmay or may not be the same as the material to be melted in the SCM.

In certain embodiments, the burner panel may include a pre-disposedlayer or layers of glass, ceramic, refractory, and/or refractory metalor other protective material on surfaces of the through passage throughthe non-fluid-cooled portions of the burner panel body. The layer orlayers of protective material may or may not be the same as the materialto be melted in the SCM.

In certain burner panel embodiments, the protective member may beinstalled and/or removed from the burner panel separately from the setof conduits. In certain embodiments, the protective member of a burnerpanel may be removed from a position inside of an SCM, while theconduits of the same burner panel may be removed from the burner panelfrom outside of an SCM.

FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of fiveburner panels in accordance with the present disclosure. Embodiments100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1, 2, 5,6, and 7, respectively each includes a panel body 2 comprised of anon-fluid-cooled portion 4 and a fluid-cooled portion 6, thefluid-cooled portion 6 including a metal (preferably steel or otherhigh-strength material) portion 8 and a metal or other material coolingsub-portion 10. One structure of cooling sub-portion 10 is described inconjunction with schematic FIGS. 10A and 10B, illustrating a metalsupport plate 11 having a plurality of metal or other material conduits13 for flow of coolant fluid there through. In the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, coolant fluid passes through oneconduit 13 in one direction and returns in the next adjacent conduit 13via elbows 15. In other embodiments, each conduit 13 may flow coolantfluid in the same direction, with the chilled coolant fluid supplied viaa chilled fluid manifold, and warmed coolant fluid collected in a secondmanifold (not illustrated). Other arrangements are possible.

Still referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7, a seam 12 is present betweennon-fluid-cooled portion 4 and fluid-cooled portion 6. One or morethrough passages 14 are present, extending from a first major surface 16of panel body 2 to a second major surface 18. As indicated inembodiments 100, 300, and 400 of FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, another layer orlayers 20 may be present as post-formed skulls of the glass or othermaterial being melted in the SCM, as discussed herein, and therefore aredepicted schematically in phantom. In embodiments 200 and 400 of FIGS. 2and 6, however, layer or layers 20 are pre-formed as part of theoriginal or virgin burner panel, and are therefore depicted using solid,non-phantom lines. In cases where the burner panel includes a pre-formedprotective layer or layers, second major surface 18 is formed by the topsurface of pre-formed layer 20.

Referring again to FIG. 1, burner panel 100 includes an outer conduit22, an inner conduit 24 (which may be more than one conduit) that aresubstantially concentric. As used herein, “substantially concentric”means that conduits 22, 24 may be concentric, or conduit 24 may benon-concentric with a longitudinal axis “L” of conduit 22 (see FIG. 5),especially if conduit 24 is comprised of more than one conduit. Ifconduit 24 is more than one conduit (for example 2 to 10, or 2 to 8, or2 to 6, or 3 to 6 conduits), the conduits 24 may be centered about thelongitudinal axis L of conduit 22. Conduit(s) 24 define a primarypassage 26 for fuel (“F”) or oxidant (“O”), while the space betweenouter conduit 22 and inner conduit(s) 24 defines a secondary passage 28for fuel or oxidant. For example, during operation fuel may flow throughprimary passage 26 (and thus conduit(s) 24 may be referred to as “fuelconduit(s)”) while oxidant may flow through secondary passage 28 (andthus conduit 22 may be referred to as an “oxidant conduit”). In otherembodiments, conduit 22 may be the fuel conduit while conduit(s) 24 maybe the oxidant conduit. Outer conduit 22 may be welded to metal supportplate 11 (FIG. 10A) of metal support and cooling portion 10, orconnected via flange or other connection, such as threaded fittings. Inthis way, outer and inner conduits 22, 24 may be removed from burnerpanel 100, such as by cutting the connection between support plate 11and outer conduit 22, or using a torch, or unthreading.

Still referring to embodiment 100 and FIG. 1, burner panel 100 includesa plenum 30 through which outer conduit 22 maybe connected to a sourceof F or O, and a connector 32 for connecting inner conduit 24 to asource of F or O. At a distal end 34 of outer conduit 22 is associated anon-fluid-cooled protective member 36, which may be a shaped annulardisk comprised of one or more noble metals. A distal end 40 of innerconduit 24 is illustrated, as well as coolant fluid inlet and outletconnections 48, 49.

Embodiment 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 also shows diameter D4 of thoughpassage 14 through non-fluid-cooled portion or layer 4. Diameter 14 inembodiment 100 is illustrated as increasing in the direction of flow,but this is not necessary. The diameter D4 may initially be constant,but over time during operation may broaden as illustrated due toerosion. The rate of erosion may be controlled by selection of thematerial of non-fluid-cooled portion 4, or at least that portion formingthrough passage 14. For example, through passage 14 may be formed from acontrollably erodible material that erodes at a faster or slow rate thanthe material of non-fluid-cooled portion 4. Such materials may includeceramics such as, but not limited to, alumina and silicon nitride,refractory materials such as, but not limited to, chrome-containing orzircon-based refractory metals, and noble metals, or mixtures orcombinations thereof. Skull layer 20 is depicted in phantom inembodiment 100, as in this embodiment it would be formed duringoperation of the SCM.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic cross-sectional views of threeembodiments 110, 120, and 130 of non-fluid-cooled protective member 36in accordance with the present disclosure, illustrating some of thevariety of shapes that the shaped annular disk 36 may take. Embodiment110 is an annulus having an internal surface 42 having diameter that isa constant magnitude of d1, and an external surface 44 having diameterd2 that increases from one face (lower or bottom face) to a second face(upper or top face) of the annulus. Embodiment 120 is an annulus havinga constant internal diameter portion 42A of diameter d1, and anincreasing internal diameter portion 42B of diameter d3, and an externalsurface 44 having a diameter d2 that increases from one face to a secondface of the annulus. Embodiment 130 is an annulus having an internalsurface 42 having diameter that is a constant magnitude of d1, and anexternal surface 44 having a constant external diameter portion 44 ofdiameter d4, and a large diameter heat transfer extension 46 of diameterd5, where d4<d5. In each embodiment 110, 120, and 130, the design isintended to transfer heat away from the position indicated at 50, whichis the position of highest temperature of the shaped annular disk duringoperation. Ranges for magnitude of d1, d2, d3, d4, and d5 are providedin Table 1. It will be understood that these are approximate ranges(each number includes the word “about” before it), are not exclusiveranges, and that any range within the tabulated ranges are explicitlydisclosed herein.

TABLE 1 Shaped Annular Disk Dimensions Pref. Range. Pref. rangeDimension Range (in.) (in.) Range (cm) (cm) d1 0.25-5.0  1.0-3.00.635-12.7  2.54-7.62 d2 0.5-7.0 1.0-5.0 1.27-17.8 2.54-12.7 d30.25-6.0  0.5-4.0 0.635-15.2  1.27-10.2 d4 0.5-5.5 1.0-4.0  1.27-13.972.54-10.2 d5 1.0-7.0 2.0-5.0 2.54-17.8 5.08-12.7

Referring now to FIG. 2, embodiment 200 includes many of the features ofembodiment 100 of FIG. 1, but with the following changes. Embodiment 200includes a pre-formed or deposited skull of protective material 20, andfurther illustrates more dimensions of burner panels of this disclosure.Outer conduit 22 has an inner diameter D1, and outer diameter D2, whilenon-fluid cooled portion 4 has a thickness d6. Further illustrated is aheight H1, which is a thickness of protective member 36, and alsoillustrates the height of distal end 40 of inner conduit 24 above alower surface of protective member 36. Embodiment 200 also illustrates adistance d7, which is the distance from the bottom surface of protectivemember 36 to a top surface of the non-fluid-cooled portion 4. Embodiment200 also illustrates a retaining member 52 welded or brazed toprotective member 36 about at least a portion of its upper periphery.Retaining member 52 may be a circumferential ring, or may be one or moremale portions 54, 56 that fit into corresponding female portions 58 influid-cooled portion 6 as illustrated in embodiment 220 of FIG. 4. Thethicknesses of pre-formed portion or layer 20 and portion 6 are notindicated in the figures, but are multiples or fractions of thickness d6of non-fluid-cooled portion 4. The thickness of layer 20 may range fromabout 0.1 to about 10 times d6, or from about 0.5 to about 5 times d6;the thickness of layer 6 may range from about 0.5 to about 2 times d6,or from about 0.75 to about 1.25 times d6. Ranges for magnitude of d6,d7, H1, D1, D2, and D3 (inner diameter of inner conduit 24) are providedin Table 2. It will be understood that these are approximate ranges(each number includes the word “about” before it), are not exclusiveranges, and that any range within the tabulated ranges are explicitlydisclosed herein.

TABLE 2 Burner Panel Dimensions, FIG. 2 Pref. Range. Pref. rangeDimension Range (in.) (in.) Range (cm) (cm) d6 0.25-5.0 1.0-3.00.635-12.7  2.54-7.62 d7  0.5-7.0 1.5-5.0 1.27-17.8 3.81-12.7 H10.25-2.0 0.5-1.0 0.635-5.08  1.27-2.54 D1  0.5-5.5 1.0-4.0  1.27-13.972.54-10.2 D2 0.75-6.0 1.25-3.75 1.91-15.2 3.18-9.53 D3 0.125-2.0 0.5-1.0 0.32-5.08 1.27-2.54

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, illustrated are three otherembodiments 300, 400, and 500 of burner panels in accordance with thepresent disclosure. Embodiments 300, 400, and 500 illustrate embodimentsemploying a fluid-cooled protective member 72 fluidly connected to asupply of coolant fluid through one or more coolant fluid supplyconduits 80, and fluidly connected to a return of coolant fluid throughone or more return conduits 82. The designation “CFI” indicates “coolantfluid in” and the designation “CFO” means “coolant fluid out.”Embodiment 300 includes an outer conduit 22 having an expansion nozzle70 attached thereto, for example by welding. Alternatively, nozzle 70and outer conduit 22 may be formed from a single ingot of metal.Embodiments 300, 400, and 500 also illustrate the use of a mountingsleeve 74, mounting sleeve first half flange 76, and second half flange78, the flange halves held together with appropriate bolts and gaskets,not illustrated. Conduits 80, 82 pass through half flange 78.Fluid-cooled protective member 72 is preferably a hollow annulus,although the annulus need not be completely hollow; for example, theremay be support structures, baffles, heat transfer structures, and otherfeatures inside of fluid-cooled protective member 72.

Still referring to FIG. 5, embodiment 300 includes a height H2, defininghow far nozzle 70 extends above major surface 18. A height H3 is alsoillustrated, defining the distance a distal end of nozzle 70 extendsabove distal end of inner conduit 40, and a nozzle angle “θ”, forming anon-fluid-cooled combustion region 90. In this configuration, H2<H3.Embodiment 400 illustrated schematically in FIG. 6 differs fromembodiment 300 only in that the protective material skull 20 ispreformed, and embodiment 400 includes no nozzle 70; in thisconfiguration, H2>H3. Embodiment 500 illustrated schematically in FIG. 7differs from embodiment 400 only in that the protective material skull20 is post-formed. The structures illustrated schematically in FIGS. 5,6, and 7 differ from known SC burners, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 7,273,583, which discloses and teaches fluid-cooled combustionchambers as an important feature. The burner panels described hereinextend the operating life of the outer conduit 22, while not hinderingcombustion by fluid cooling of the combustion chamber. The ranges of H2,H3, and the angle α are provided in Table 3. It will be understood thatthese are approximate ranges (each number includes the word “about”before it), are not exclusive ranges, and that any range within thetabulated ranges are explicitly disclosed herein.

TABLE 3 Dimensions for FIG. 5 Pref. Range. Pref. range Dimension Range(in.) (in.) Range (cm) (cm) H2  0-5.0  0-3.0   0-12.7   0-7.62 H30.5-7.0 0.5-5.0 1.27-17.8 1.27-12.7 θ  0-45  0-30 — —

It is also noted that sleeve and flange arrangement illustrated in FIGS.5, 6, and 7, may also be employed in the burner panels such asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, embodiments 100, and 200.

Referring now to FIG. 8, embodiment 600 of an SCM in accordance with thepresent disclosure is illustrated in vertical sectional view. SCMembodiment 600 comprises a melter having a floor 200 (which may be aburner panel in accordance with the present disclosure), a roof orceiling 652, a feed end wall 654A, a first portion of an exit end wall654B, and a second portion of the exit end wall 654C. Feed end wall 654Aand exit end wall portion 654B may form angles “α” and “β”,respectively, with respect to floor 2, as indicated. Angles α and β maybe the same or different, and generally may range from about 30 degreesto about 90 degrees, or from about 45 degrees to about 75 degrees.Decreasing these angles beyond these ranges may require more floor spacefor the melters, and/or more material of construction, both of which aregenerally undesirable. Increasing these angles may promote dead spacesin corners, which is also undesirable. Exit end wall portion 654C mayform an angle ‘γ’ with respect to skimmer 680. Angle γ may be the rangefrom 0 to about 70 degrees, or from about 30 degrees to about 75degrees. Increasing this angle beyond these ranges may require morefloor space for the melters, and/or more material of construction, bothof which are generally undesirable. Decreasing this angle may promoteescape of unmelted or melted material up stack 656, or deposition ontointernal surfaces of stack 656, both of which are also undesirable. Apre-formed or post-formed frozen and/or highly viscous layer or layers670 of material being melted may be formed on the inside surfaces ofwalls 654A, 654B, the post-formed layer or layers due to the use offluid-cooled panels for these walls.

One or more or all of walls 654A, 654B, 654C, floor 200, and roof 652may be comprised of a fluid-cooled metal shell 672 and anon-fluid-cooled refractory panel 674.

System embodiment 600 further includes an exhaust stack 656, andsubmerged combustion fuel and oxidant conduits 24, 22, in one or moreburner panels making up floor 200 which create during operation a highlyturbulent melt indicated at 668 having a variable surface 669. Incertain embodiments, fuel and oxidant conduits 24, 22 are positioned toemit fuel and oxidant into molten material in the melting zone 668 in afashion so that the gases combust and penetrate the melt generallyperpendicularly to floor panel 200. In other embodiments, one or morefuel or oxidant conduits 24, 22 may emit fuel or oxidant into the meltat an angle to floor 200, where the angle may be more or less than 45degrees, but in certain embodiments may be 30 degrees, or 40 degrees, or50 degrees, or 60 degrees, or 70 degrees, or 80 degrees.

The initial raw material can be introduced into the melter of system 600on a batch, semi-continuous or continuous basis. In some embodiments, aport 660 is arranged at end 654A of the melter through which the initialraw material is introduced by a feeder 658. Other embodiments mayinclude a slanted or angled feed chute in which large pieces of feedmaterial (such as basalt or other material) may be fed and optionallypre-heated by out going melter exhaust without becoming fluidized. Insome embodiments a “batch blanket” 662 may form along wall 654A, asillustrated in FIG. 8. Feed port 660 may be positioned above the averageglass melt level, indicated by dashed line 666. The amount of theinitial raw material introduced into the melter is generally a functionof, for example, the capacity and operating conditions of the melter aswell as the rate at which the molten material is removed from themelter.

The initial raw material feedstock may include any material suitable forforming molten inorganic materials, such as glass, such as, for example,limestone, glass, sand, soda ash, feldspar, basalt or other rock woolforming material, and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, a glasscomposition for producing glass fibers is “E-glass,” which typicallyincludes 52-56% SiO₂, 12-16% Al₂O₃, 0-0.8% Fe₂O₃, 16-25% CaO, 0-6% MgO,0-10% B₂O₃, 0-2% Na₂0+K₂O, 0-1.5% TiO₂ and 0-1% F₂. Other glasscompositions may be used, such as those described in assignee'spublished U.S. application 20080276652. The initial raw material can beprovided in any form such as, for example, relatively small particles,or in the case of rock wool or mineral wool manufacture, in large pieces5 cm or more in diameter.

As noted herein, submerged combustion burners and burner panels mayproduce violent turbulence of the molten inorganic material in the SCMand may result in sloshing of molten material, pulsing of combustionburners, popping of large bubbles above submerged burners, ejection ofmolten material from the melt against the walls and ceiling of melter,and the like. Frequently, one or more of these phenomena may result inundesirably short life of temperature sensors and other components usedto monitor a submerged combustion melter's operation, making monitoringdifficult, and use of signals from these sensors for melter control allbut impossible for more than a limited time period. Processes andsystems of the present disclosure may include indirect measurement ofmelt temperature in the melter itself, as disclosed in assignee's U.S.Pat. No. 9,096,453, using one or more thermocouples for monitoringand/or control of the melter, for example using a controller. A signalmay be transmitted by wire or wirelessly from a thermocouple to acontroller, which may control the melter by adjusting any number ofparameters, for example feed rate of feeder 658 may be adjusted througha signal, and one or more of fuel and/or oxidant conduits 24, 22 may beadjusted via a signal, it being understood that suitable transmittersand actuators, such as valves and the like, are not illustrated forclarity.

Referring again to FIG. 8, system embodiment 600 includes a melter exitstructure 676 for discharging the molten glass or similar material.Melter exit structure 676 is positioned generally downstream of melterexit ends 654B, 654C as illustrated of FIG. 8, and may fluidly andmechanically connect the melter vessel to a molten material conditioningchannel, or other channel or structure (not illustrated). Melter exitstructure 676 comprises a fluid-cooled transition channel 678, havinggenerally rectangular cross-section in embodiment 600, although anyother cross-section would suffice, such as hexagonal, trapezoidal, oval,circular, and the like. Regardless of cross-sectional shape,fluid-cooled transition channel 678 is configured to form a frozen layeror highly viscous layer, or combination thereof, of material beingmelted on inner surfaces of fluid-cooled transition channel 678 and thusprotect melter exit structure 676 from the mechanical energy impartedfrom the melter vessel to melter exit structure 676. Melter exitstructure 676 may in certain embodiments comprise an essentiallyrectangular, fluid-cooled, ceramic or metallic box having a length, awidth, a height. In these embodiments, length may range from about 5 toabout 50 percent, or from about 10 to about 40 percent, of the entirelength of the melter apparatus. The width of melt exit structure 676 maybe the same as the width of the melter apparatus, or may be less or morethan the width of the melter apparatus. The height may range from about5 to about 50 percent, or from about 10 to about 40 percent, of theentire height of the melter apparatus, measured from floor 200 toceiling 652. Melter length, width and height depend primarily on theamount of raw material to be fed, the amount of molten material to beproduced, and the desired throughputs mentioned herein.

A fluid-cooled skimmer 680 may be provided, extending downward from theceiling of the melter vessel and positioned upstream of fluid-cooledtransition channel 678. Fluid-cooled skimmer 680 has a lower distal end682 extending a distance L_(s) ranging from about 1 inch to about 12inches (from about 2.5 cm to about 30 cm) below the average melt level666, which may be from about 0.2 to about 0.8, or from about 0.25 toabout 0.75 times the height of 676. Fluid-cooled skimmer 680 may beconfigured to form a frozen layer or highly viscous layer, orcombination thereof, of material being melted on its outer surfaces.Skimmer lower distal end 682 defines, in conjunction with a lower wallof melter exit structure 676, a throat 684 of the melter vessel, throat684 configured to control flow of molten glass or other material fromthe melter vessel into melter exit structure 676. Preferably, throat 684is arranged below average melt level 666. Molten material can be removedfrom melter exit structure 676 on a batch, semi-continuous basis orcontinuous basis. In an exemplary embodiment, the molten materialcontinuously flows through throat 684 and generally horizontally throughmelter exit structure 676, and is removed continuously from melter exitstructure 676 to a conditioning channel (not illustrated). Thereafter,the molten material can be processed by any suitable known technique,for example, a process for forming glass or other fibers.

Certain embodiments may include an overlapping refractory material layer686 on at least the inner surface of fluid-cooled transition channel 678that are exposed to molten material. In certain embodiments theoverlapping refractory material may comprise a seamless insert of densechrome, molybdenum, or other dense ceramic or metallic material. Thedense chrome or other refractory material may be inserted into themelter exit structure and may provide a seamless transition form themelter vessel to a conditioning channel (not illustrated).

Another optional feature of system embodiment 600 is the provision of afluid-cooled dam opening 688 in the upper wall or ceiling of melt exitstructure 676. Dam opening 688 accommodates a movable, fluid-cooled dam690, which is illustrated schematically in FIG. 8 in a retractedposition. Dam 690 may be manipulated by a prime mover 692, such as oneor more motors, jack screws, or the like. Fluid-cooled dam 690 comprisesdimensions allowing the dam to be extended an entire distance from topto bottom of fluid-cooled transition channel 678 and completely isolatethe melting zone of the melter vessel from the conditioning channel.

FIG. 9 is a schematic logic diagram of a method of melting non-metallicinorganic materials in accordance with the present disclosure. Inembodiment 700, the method comprises feeding the feedstock into asubmerged combustion melter comprising a combustion burner panelcomprising a panel body having a first major surface defined by a lowerfluid-cooled portion of the panel body, and a second major surfacedefined by an upper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body, thepanel body having at least one through passage extending from the firstto the second major surface, the panel body supporting at least one setof substantially concentric at least one inner conduit and an outerconduit in the through passage, each conduit comprising proximal anddistal ends, the at least one inner conduit forming a primary passageand the outer conduit forming a secondary passage between the outerconduit and the at least one inner conduit; and a non-fluid cooledprotective member associated with each set, each non-fluid cooledprotective member supported at least partially internally of the panelbody and positioned at the distal end of the outer conduit of each set(box 702); and melting the feedstock (box 704). Alternatively, anothermethod of the disclosure comprises methods similar to that of embodiment700, but the SCM comprises one or more burner panels comprising one ormore fluid-cooled protective members.

Melter apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure may alsocomprise one or more wall-mounted submerged combustion burners, and/orone or more roof-mounted burners (not illustrated). Roof-mounted burnersmay be useful to pre-heat the melter apparatus melting zones, and serveas ignition sources for one or more submerged combustion burners and/orburner panels. Melter apparatus having only wall-mounted,submerged-combustion burners or burner panels are also considered withinthe present disclosure. Roof-mounted burners may be oxy-fuel burners,but as they are only used in certain situations, are more likely to beair/fuel burners. Most often they would be shut-off after pre-heatingthe melter and/or after starting one or more submerged combustionburners. In certain embodiments, if there is a possibility of carryoverof batch particles to the exhaust, one or more roof-mounted burnerscould be used to form a curtain to prevent particulate carryover. Incertain embodiments, all submerged combustion burners and burner panelsare oxy/fuel burners or oxy-fuel burner panels (where “oxy” meansoxygen, or oxygen-enriched air, as described earlier), but this is notnecessarily so in all embodiments; some or all of the submergedcombustion burners or burner panels may be air/fuel burners.Furthermore, heating may be supplemented by electrical heating incertain embodiments, in certain melter zones.

Suitable materials for glass-contact refractory, which may be present inSC melters and downstream flow channels, and refractory panel bodies ofburner panels, include fused zirconia (ZrO₂), fused cast AZS(alumina-zirconia-silica), rebonded AZS, or fused cast alumina (Al₂O₃).The melter geometry and operating temperature, burner body panelgeometry, and type of glass or other product to be produced, may dictatethe choice of a particular material, among other parameters.

The term “fluid-cooled” means use of a coolant fluid (heat transferfluid) to transfer heat away from the burner panel. Heat transfer fluidsmay be any gaseous, liquid, slurry, or some combination of gaseous,liquid, and slurry compositions that functions or is capable of beingmodified to function as a heat transfer fluid. Gaseous heat transferfluids may be selected from air, including ambient air and treated air(for example, air treated to remove moisture), inorganic gases, such asnitrogen, argon, and helium, organic gases such as fluoro-, chloro- andchlorofluorocarbons, including perfluorinated versions, such astetrafluoromethane, and hexafluoroethane, and tetrafluoroethylene, andthe like, and mixtures of inert gases with small portions of non-inertgases, such as hydrogen. Heat transfer liquids and slurries may beselected from liquids and slurries that may be organic, inorganic, orsome combination thereof, for example, water, salt solutions, glycolsolutions, oils and the like. Other possible heat transfer fluidsinclude steam (if cooler than the expected glass melt temperature),carbon dioxide, or mixtures thereof with nitrogen. Heat transfer fluidsmay be compositions comprising both gas and liquid phases, such as thehigher chlorofluorocarbons.

Certain SCMs of this disclosure may comprise one or more non-submergedburners. Suitable non-submerged combustion burners may comprise a fuelinlet conduit having an exit nozzle, the conduit and nozzle insertedinto a cavity of a ceramic burner block, the ceramic burner block inturn inserted into either the SCM roof or the SCM wall structure, orboth the SCM roof and SCM wall structure. Downstream flow channels mayalso comprise one or more non-submerged burners.

In certain SCMs, one or more fuel and/or oxidant conduits in the SCMand/or flow channel(s) downstream thereof may be adjustable with respectto direction of flow of the fuel or oxidant or both. Adjustment may bevia automatic, semi-automatic, or manual control. Certain systemembodiments may comprise a mount that mounts the fuel or oxidant conduitin a burner panel of the SCM and/or flow channel comprising arefractory, or refractory-lined ball joint. Other mounts may compriserails mounted in slots in the wall or roof. In yet other embodiments thefuel and/or oxidant conduits may be mounted outside of the melter orchannel, on supports that allow adjustment of the fuel or oxidant flowdirection. Useable supports include those comprising ball joints,cradles, rails, and the like.

Certain SCMs and method embodiments of this disclosure may includefluid-cooled panels such as disclosed in assignee's U.S. Pat. No.8,769,992. Certain systems and processes of the present disclosure mayutilize measurement and control schemes such as described in Applicant'sU.S. Pat. No. 9,096,453, and/or feed batch densification systems andmethods as described in assignee's co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/540,704, filed Jul. 3, 2012. Certain SCMs and processes ofthe present disclosure may utilize devices for delivery of treatingcompositions such as disclosed in assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 8,973,405.

Certain SCMs and process embodiments of this disclosure may becontrolled by one or more controllers. For example, combustion (flame)temperature may be controlled by monitoring one or more parametersselected from velocity of the fuel, velocity of the primary oxidant,mass and/or volume flow rate of the fuel, mass and/or volume flow rateof the primary oxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature of thefuel as it enters the burner panel, temperature of the primary oxidantas it enters the burner panel, temperature of the effluent, pressure ofthe primary oxidant entering the burner panel, humidity of the oxidant,burner panel geometry, combustion ratio, and combinations thereof.Certain SCMs and processes of this disclosure may also measure and/ormonitor feed rate of batch or other feedstock materials, such as rockwool or mineral wool feedstock, glass batch, cullet, mat or wound rovingand treatment compositions, mass of feed, and use these measurements forcontrol purposes.

Oxidant and fuel conduits of burner panels of the present disclosure maybe comprised of metal, ceramic, ceramic-lined metal, or combinationthereof. Suitable metals include carbon steels, stainless steels, forexample, but not limited to, 306 and 316 steel, as well as titaniumalloys, aluminum alloys, and the like. High-strength materials likeC-110 and C-125 metallurgies that are NACE qualified may be employed forburner body components. (As used herein, “NACE” refers to the corrosionprevention organization formerly known as the National Association ofCorrosion Engineers, now operating under the name NACE International,Houston, Tex.) Use of high strength steel and other high strengthmaterials may significantly reduce the conduit wall thickness required,reducing weight of the conduits and/or space required for conduits.

Protection members of burner panels of the present disclosure maycomprise noble metals and/or other exotic corrosion and/orfatigue-resistant materials, such as platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru),rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir),and gold (Au); alloys of two or more noble metals; and alloys of one ormore noble metals with a base metal. In certain embodiments theprotective member may comprise an 80 wt. percent platinum/20 wt. percentrhodium alloy attached to the outer base metal conduit using brazing,welding or soldering of certain regions, as further explained inassignee's International Application No. PCT/US2013/042182 filed May 22,2013 (WO2014-189504A1).

When in alloyed form, alloys of two or more noble metals may have anyrange of noble metals. For example, alloys of two noble metals may havea range of about 0.01 to about 99.99 percent of a first noble metal and99.99 to 0.01 percent of a second noble metal. Any and all ranges inbetween 0 and 99.99 percent first noble metal and 99.99 and 0 percentsecond noble metal are considered within the present disclosure,including 0 to about 99 percent of first noble metal; 0 to about 98percent; 0 to about 97 percent; 0 to about 96; 0 to about 95; 0 to about90; 0 to about 80; 0 to about 75; 0 to about 70; 0 to about 65; 0 toabout 60; 0 to about 55; 0 to about 50; 0 to about 45, 0 to about 40; 0to about 35; 0 to about 30; 0 to about 25; 0 to about 20; 0 to about 19;0 to about 18; 0 to about 17; 0 to about 16; 0 to about 15; 0 to about14; 0 to about 13; 0 to about 12; 0 to about 11; 0 to about 10; 0 toabout 9; 0 to about 8; 0 to about 7; 0 to about 6; 0 to about 5; 0 toabout 4; 0 to about 3; 0 to about 2; 0 to about 1; and 0 to about 0.5percent of a first noble metal; with the balance comprising a secondnoble metal, or consisting essentially of (or consisting of) a secondnoble metal (for example with one or more base metals present at no morethan about 10 percent, or no more than about 9 percent base metal, or nomore than about 8, or about 7, or about 6, or about 5, or about 4, orabout 3, or about 2, or no more than about 1 percent base metal).

In certain noble metal alloy embodiments comprising three or more noblemetals, the percentages of each individual noble metal may range fromequal amounts of all noble metals in the composition (about 33.33percent of each), to compositions comprising, or consisting essentiallyof, or consisting of 0.01 percent of a first noble metal, 0.01 percentof a second noble metal, and 99.98 percent of a third noble metal. Anyand all ranges in between about 33.33 percent of each, and 0.01 percentof a first noble metal, 0.01 percent of a second noble metal, and 99.98percent of a third noble metal, are considered within the presentdisclosure.

The choice of a particular material is dictated among other parametersby the chemistry, pressure, and temperature of fuel and oxidant used andtype of melt to be produced. The skilled artisan, having knowledge ofthe particular application, pressures, temperatures, and availablematerials, will be able design the most cost effective, safe, andoperable burner panels for each particular application without undueexperimentation.

The terms “corrosion resistant” and “fatigue resistant” as used hereinrefer to two different failure mechanisms that may occur simultaneously,and it is theorized that these failure mechanisms may actually influenceeach other in profound ways. Preferably, burner panels will have asatisfactory service life of at least 12 months under conditionsexisting in a continuously operating SCM. As used herein the SCM maycomprise a floor, a roof, and a sidewall structure connecting the floorand roof defining an internal space, at least a portion of the internalspace comprising a melting zone, and one or more combustion burnerpanels of this disclosure in either the floor, the roof, or the sidewallstructure, or any two or more of these, producing combustion gases andconfigured to emit the combustion gases from a position under a levelof, and positioned to transfer heat to and produce, a turbulent moltenmass of glass containing bubbles in the melting zone.

The total quantities of fuel and oxidant used by burner panels of thepresent disclosure may be such that the flow of oxygen may range fromabout 0.9 to about 1.2 of the theoretical stoichiometric flow of oxygennecessary to obtain the complete combustion of the fuel flow. Anotherexpression of this statement is that the combustion ratio may range fromabout 0.9 to about 1.2.

The velocity of the fuel in the various burner panel embodiments of thepresent disclosure depends on the burner panel geometry used, butgenerally is at least about 15 meters/second (m/s). The upper limit offuel velocity depends primarily on the desired penetration of flameand/or combustion products into the glass melt and the geometry of theburner panel; if the fuel velocity is too low, the flame temperature maybe too low, providing inadequate temperature in the melter, which is notdesired, and if the fuel flow is too high, flame and/or combustionproducts might impinge on a melter wall or roof, or cause carryover ofmelt into the exhaust, or be wasted, which is also not desired. Bafflesmay be provided extending from the roof, and/or in the melter exhauststack, or transition region between the melter and stack, in order tosafeguard against this. Similarly, oxidant velocity should be monitoredso that flame and/or combustion products do not impinge on an SCM wallor roof, or cause carryover of melt into the exhaust, or be wasted.Oxidant velocities depend on fuel flow rate and fuel velocity, but ingeneral should not exceed about 200 ft/sec at 400 scfh flow rate.

A combustion process control scheme may be employed. A master controllermay be employed, but the disclosure is not so limited, as anycombination of controllers could be used. The controller may be selectedfrom PI controllers, PID controllers (including any known or reasonablyforeseeable variations of these), and may compute a residual equal to adifference between a measured value and a set point to produce an outputto one or more control elements. The controller may compute the residualcontinuously or non-continuously. Other possible implementations of thedisclosure are those wherein the controller comprises more specializedcontrol strategies, such as strategies selected from feed forward,cascade control, internal feedback loops, model predictive control,neural networks, and Kalman filtering techniques.

The term “control”, used as a transitive verb, means to verify orregulate by comparing with a standard or desired value. Control may beclosed loop, feedback, feed-forward, cascade, model predictive,adaptive, heuristic and combinations thereof. The term “controller”means a device at least capable of accepting input from sensors andmeters in real time or near-real time, and sending commands directly toburner panel control elements, and/or to local devices associated withburner panel control elements able to accept commands. A controller mayalso be capable of accepting input from human operators; accessingdatabases, such as relational databases; sending data to and accessingdata in databases, data warehouses or data marts; and sendinginformation to and accepting input from a display device readable by ahuman. A controller may also interface with or have integrated therewithone or more software application modules, and may supervise interactionbetween databases and one or more software application modules.

The phrase “PID controller” means a controller using proportional,integral, and derivative features. In some cases the derivative mode maynot be used or its influence reduced significantly so that thecontroller may be deemed a PI controller. It will also be recognized bythose of skill in the control art that there are existing variations ofPI and PID controllers, depending on how the discretization isperformed. These known and foreseeable variations of PI, PID and othercontrollers are considered within the disclosure.

The controller may utilize Model Predictive Control (MPC). MPC is anadvanced multivariable control method for use in multiple input/multipleoutput (MIMO) systems. MPC computes a sequence of manipulated variableadjustments in order to optimise the future behavior of the process inquestion. It may be difficult to explicitly state stability of an MPCcontrol scheme, and in certain embodiments of the present disclosure itmay be necessary to use nonlinear MPC. In so-called advanced control ofvarious systems, PID control may be used on strong mono-variable loopswith few or nonproblematic interactions, while one or more networks ofMPC might be used, or other multivariable control structures, for stronginterconnected loops. Furthermore, computing time considerations may bea limiting factor. Some embodiments may employ nonlinear MPC.

A feed forward algorithm, if used, will in the most general sense betask specific, meaning that it will be specially designed to the task itis designed to solve. This specific design might be difficult to design,but a lot is gained by using a more general algorithm, such as a firstor second order filter with a given gain and time constants.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this disclosure have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as definedin the following claims. In the claims, no clauses are intended to be inthe means-plus-function format allowed by 35 U.S.C. § 112, Section F,unless “means for” is explicitly recited together with an associatedfunction. “Means for” clauses are intended to cover the structures,materials, and/or acts described herein as performing the recitedfunction and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalentstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A combustion burner panel comprising: (a) a panelbody having a first major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooledportion of the panel body, and a second major surface defined by anupper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body, the panel body havingat least one through passage extending from the first to the secondmajor surface, the panel body supporting at least one set ofsubstantially concentric at least one inner conduit and an outer conduitin the through passage, each conduit comprising proximal and distalends, the at least one inner conduit forming a primary passage and theouter conduit forming a secondary passage between the outer conduit andthe at least one inner conduit; and (b) a non-fluid cooled protectivemember associated with each set, each non-fluid cooled protective membersupported at least partially internally of the panel body and positionedat the distal end of the outer conduit of each set.
 2. The burner panelof claim 1 wherein the outer conduit of at least some of the sets ofconcentric conduits are oxidant conduits, and the at least one innerconduit is one or more fuel conduits.
 3. The burner panel of claim 1wherein the lower fluid-cooled portion and the upper non-fluid cooledportion are positioned in layers, with the lower fluid-cooled portionsupporting the sets of conduits and the associated protective members.4. The burner panel of claim 2 wherein a distal end of the one or morefuel conduits extends a height H above a bottom surface of theprotective member.
 5. A combustion burner panel comprising: (a) a panelbody having a first major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooledportion of the panel body, and a second major surface defined by anupper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body, the panel body havingat least one through passage extending from the first to the secondmajor surface, the through passage diameter being greater in the lowerfluid-cooled portion than in the upper non-fluid cooled portion, thepanel body supporting at least one set of substantially concentric atleast one inner conduit and an outer conduit, each conduit comprisingproximal and distal ends, the at least one inner conduit forming aprimary passage and the outer conduit forming a secondary passagebetween the outer conduit and the at least one inner conduit; and (b) afluid-cooled protective member associated with each set and havingconnections for coolant fluid supply and return, each fluid-cooledprotective member positioned adjacent at least a portion of thecircumference of the outer conduit between the proximal and distal endsthereof at approximately a position of the fluid-cooled portion of thepanel body.
 6. The burner panel of claim 5 wherein each fluid-cooledprotective member is a fluid-cooled collar having an internal diameterabout the same as an external diameter of the outer conduit, thefluid-cooled collar having an external diameter larger than the internaldiameter.
 7. The burner panel of claim 5 comprising a mounting sleeve,the mounting sleeve having a diameter at least sufficient to accommodatethe external diameter of the fluid-cooled collar.
 8. The burner panel ofclaim 5 wherein the panel body fluid-cooled portion and non-fluid-cooledportion are positioned in layers, and wherein the layers of thefluid-cooled and non-fluid-cooled portions form a seam there between,and wherein a top surface of the fluid-cooled protective member and theseam are at substantially equal distance d6 from a top surface of thenon-fluid-cooled portion, and a bottom surface of the fluid-cooledprotective member is below the seam a distance d7, where d6<d7.
 9. Theburner panel of claim 8 wherein the outer conduit is an oxidant conduitand extends a height h2 above the seam, and the inner conduit is a fuelconduit and extends a height h3 above the seam, wherein h2>h3.
 10. Asubmerged combustion melter including one or more burner panels of claim16.
 11. A method of melting non-metallic inorganic feedstock using asubmerged combustion melter, the method comprising (a) feeding thefeedstock into the submerged combustion melter of claim 10, and (b)melting the feedstock.